What Pope Francis said about Christians’ attitudes to homosexuals and what he did about the prospect of priests celebrating Mass ad orientem feature prominently in this month’s episode of The 15th Station. Don, James and Gavin also speak about the demographic challenges facing the Church in New Zealand — and in other Western countries — and consider the Church’s efforts to stop the legalisation of euthanasia. But how could a podcast be complete without discussion of PokemonGo? Answer: It couldn’t. Enjoy the show.

There are many reasons for doom and gloom when considering this month’s lineup of topics — none more so than reflecting on the murder of four Missionaries of Charity in Yemen. They are “today’s martyrs”, Pope Francis said, and it’s hard to disagree. In New Zealand, Bishop Patrick Dunn has spoken out against Madonna, who he said engages in highly offensive conduct in her current concert. In the US, causing offense seems to be something of a pastime for presidential hopeful Donald Trump. Pope Francis and leading Catholic academics have been highly critical of the billionaire’s rhetoric and policies. Is the criticism fair? Lucy, Don, James and Gavin consider those questions, and also do their best to think about Iron Maiden’s greatest hits.

The Synod on the Family — and the various reports coming out of Rome — dominate the first half of this month’s episode, with New Zealanders’ views on family life, Archbishop John Dew’s opinion and the thoughts of an Australian couple making headlines. In other news, Don, James and Gavin discuss the effect of migration on the Church in New Zealand, efforts to advance the cause of the woman who could become New Zealand’s first saint and an initiative in the United States to inject life into parishes with dwindling numbers.

Pope Francis continues to be a media darling, with Rolling Stone magazine the latest publication to run a glowing piece on the Pontiff as he approaches the one-year anniversary of his election. But, as this article from The Week explains, there were quite a few errors and exaggerations in the article. Pope Francis has also been in the news with his appointment of his first group of new cardinals, and he’s also talked of the Internet — our medium of communicating with the world — is a “gift from God”. We find it hard to disagree with him. James, Shannon, Don and Gavin also talk about the death of a New Zealand bishop and a survey of Catholics in Germany and Switzerland. Enjoy the show.

With the panel down on numbers and an early recording date, it’s a more concise episode of The 15th Station this month as James and Gavin discuss some of the big stories of the month, including Pope Francis’s desire for bishops to be more pastor than prince, the idea of the Church reclaiming the word “matrimony” as marriage is redefined in various jurisdictions and we take a look at the first meeting of arguably the two most important Christian leaders in the world — Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury. We said “arguably”. Other big stories from the month, including the upcoming canonisations and the new encyclical, will feature in next month’s podcast.

The magic of the Internet brings Don, James and Gavin together for this month’s episode of The 15th Station, in which the papal butler’s conviction, the sale of a Catholic school to a Muslim education trust and the German bishops’ ruling that Catholics who stop paying a Church tax can’t receive the sacraments all get a run. That story has us a bit stumped, so this blog post (or this one) can offer a more learned exposition of the situation. We also chat about the changing religious landscape in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, and revisit the evolving story of the fresco restoration fail.

In Sesame Street style, this month’s episode of The 15th Station is brought to you by the word “repeal”, as we discuss the near repeal of President Obama’s health care legislation, the attempted repeal of the affiliation of a university pro-life club and the possible future repeal of refugees’ rights in New Zealand. Rest assured, though, there have been no attempts to repeal the 15th Station — enjoy the show.

A new study suggests many young New Zealanders might be becoming more religious while other peers are turning away from faith. Which will win out? The panel discusses that research and analyses the possible impact of Pope Benedict’s trip to Cuba, as well as the semiannual controversial billboard from a prominent Anglican parish in Auckland. We’d love to hear from our listeners, so feel free to post comments with your feedback.

The panel this month analyses the contentious provisions in President Obama’s health care legislation requiring Catholic hospitals and institutions to provide health insurance covering contraception and sterilisation procedures*, efforts by Auckland businessmen to open a 15-storey brothel in the central city and the Pope’s concerning admission that Christianity risks oblivion. But, in the good news of the month, Station 15/Icon Media has become an affiliate of the international Catholic podcasting network, SQPN. We’re really excited to be part of the SQPN stable, an extension of the great relationship we’ve had with Father Roderick Vonhogen over the past three years or so.

* This episode was recorded before President Obama’s announcement of changes to the health care legislation in response to the bishops Church’s concerns

In previous episodes of 15 Minutes with the Bishop, we;ve covered things happening out in the world. In this week’s show, we get a little more personal, as Gavin talks with Bishop Patrick Dunn about the latter’s priestly vocation. How did his family influence the man who would become Bishop of Auckland? Was there a moment when he knew he had to enter the seminary? Learn answers to those questions and many more in this episode.

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The 15th Station is our active monthly news podcast. We get a panel of Kiwi Catholics together to provide a Catholic perspective on the news and current events of the month.

Catechiwi is our archived catechesis podcast where we get a guest theologian from around the country or the world to speak on an aspect of the Catholic Faith.

Ignition leverages our partnerships with organisations like Hearts Aflame to provide a back catalogue of amazing lectures and talks from international speakers. We divide these talks up into multi-part podcasts.